Fixed-line & broadband technologies.

Easy Internet access at around 50,000 locations worldwide.Find out more

168,000 households in ten Germany cities equipped with fiber-to-the-home.Find out more

Data transport within the Internet infrastructure and individual use of the Internet both rely on a number of innovative technologies. Many people already use network-based solutions to organize their day-to-day lives conveniently and individually. That is why we are continuously striving to improve our offer of high-speed connections, both for fixed-line and mobile communications.

The DSL-based transmission protocols ADSL, ADSL2+ and VDSL and the expansion of the fiber optic network all the way to the customer's home (Fiber to the Home, FTTH) increase the speed of data transfer in the fixed-line area.

We are able to achieve similar increases in performance in the mobile communications area by switching from 2nd generation networks (2G) with GSM and EDGE to third generation networks (3G) with the UMTS-based standards HSDPA/HSUPA and HSPA+. With the switch to the Long Term Evolution (LTE) transmission standard of the future (also referred to as "4G"), data rates will increase many times over and reach broadband speeds.

Customers need more mobile bandwidth to be able to conveniently access complex online applications quickly when they are on the go. That is why Telekom is increasing its use of 3rd and 4th generation broadband mobile communications technologies.

* The maximum values listed here are based on theoretical assumptions. Upstream, downstream and data rates often fall below these values during actual use.

ADSL2+ expansion.

ADSL2+ (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line 2+) is the DSL standard currently used by Deutsche Telekom for fixed-line connections. It allows for the fast transmission of large amounts of data at speeds of up to 16 Mbit/s.

Between 2006 and early 2012, 22.8 million lines in more than 1,000 cities were migrated over to ADSL2+ in Germany alone.

We began introducing MSAN (Multi service access node), a device class for access nodes, on August 15, 2011. MSAN integrates earlier technology into the all-IP network. It replaces the splitters that were previously used for network connection to separate voice and data and consequently enables the use of DSL lines with fully IP-based services as well as traditional phone services without the necessity to replace existing devices. We will continue the migration process in 2012.

VDSL expansion.

With VDSL (Very high bit rate digital subscriber line), Telekom once again increased the speed of its DSL lines several times over: more than three times compared to ADSL and twice as fast as ADSL2+. The new technology allows for data rates of up to 50 Mbit/s. A hybrid network is needed to realize these speeds. In a hybrid network, the fiber optic cables extend all the way into the subscriber's neighborhood. Conventional copper lines are used to cover the last 300 to 500 meters to the customer.

Telekom expanded the high-speed VDSL network in close proximity to each subscriber in 50 German cities in 2009. That means 11.6 million households have access to bandwidths of up to 50 Mbit/s. Bandwidths of up to 16 Mbit/s are available in 7,800 out of 7,900 exchange areas. Almost 20 million households in Germany can receive triple-play products (phone, Internet and TV) based on bandwidths of between 16 Mbit/s and 50 Mbit/s.

With the VDSL vectoring technology, which was developed in 2011, speeds of 90 Mbit/s can be achieved with VDSL. The new technology neutralizes interference that results from having several VDSL lines in one cable by pre-coding or equalizing the signals. This requires a standardized control mechanism for all VDSL lines in the cable, including those used by competitors. We will begin initial pilot operations with the new technology in 2012.

FTTH expansion in Germany.

When it comes to fiber-optic expansion, Deutsche Telekom does not only rely on Fiber to the Cabinet (FTTC), which refers to expansion in the proximity of the subscriber, but also on the Fiber to the Home (FTTH) solution, in which fiber optic cables extend into the customer's home. FTTH expansion was launched in 2010.

Investments by Telekom in new fiber optic networks will be based on demand. Two requirements need to be met in the expansion areas before civil engineering works can start:

At least 80 percent of residents need to give their permission to have their building connected or for cables to be laid in their building and

at least ten percent of customers need to have preordered the service.

If these conditions are not met, the expansion will have to be postponed. At the same time, we will evaluate the feasibility of using other technologies, for example FTTC with VDSL.

A total of 168,000 homes ("homes passed") in ten German cities were enabled to receive connection to the Deutsche Telekom fiber optic network through the installation of new infrastructure in 2011.

The networks in these cities are scheduled to go into operation in August 2012. Customers will then be able to access download rates of up to 200 Mbit/s and upload rates of up to 100 Mbit/s - non blocking. That means that speeds will generally be higher than those provided by cable TV network operators.

Expansion is planned for up to ten additional cities in 2012. The number of cities that will actually be served depends on the achievement of a defined minimum profitability whilst taking into account future developments. Over the course of 2012 we will decide which cities will be included in the expansion process in 2013. Expansion in the years to come will depend on the investment resources available, on whether we have achieved our cost-effectiveness thresholds, as well as on regulatory decisions.

Broadband connectivity for business customers.

Companies throughout Germany have access to standardized business customer solutions with symmetrical bandwidths of up to 622 Mbit/s. Transmission rates as high as 100 Gbit/s have been achieved as part of a pilot project for coupling data centers, which is currently being conducted by T-Systems in the Saxon city of Freiberg.

Expanding the fiber optic network in Croatia.

The Croatian subsidiary T-HT Hrvatski Telekom considerably extended its fiber-optic network in 2011. As many as 260,000 households can now be provided with FTTH connections. The company installed 94,500 FTTH subscriber drops, and 7,100 households signed up to be connected to the fiber-optic network so that they could use MAXadsl and MAXtv.

The Montenegrin subsidiary Crnogorski Telekom continued the expansion of its fiber optic network in 2011. Four districts in Podgorica and one in Tivat were provided with an FTTH infrastructure, connecting 7,700 households.

The Macedonian subsidiary provided 43,000 households with an FTTH infrastructure in 2011 and replaced the old copper cables. Makedonski Telekom invested a total of EUR 170 million in the expansion of its fixed-line and mobile communications networks in 2011.

21.8 percent of all Greek households had a broadband connection by the end of 2011. OTE remains the country's driving force when it comes to new information and communications technology. The company is the customers' first choice for broadband services. Broadband coverage is correspondingly high with OTE customers. Coverage was more than 32.5 percent in December 2011.

WLAN Services for broadband Internet on the go.

We currently offer our customers in Germany various options for broadband Internet use via WLAN, e.g., in different modes of transportation:

Users of our HotSpot service can use WLAN to conveniently access data and information at more than 11,000 locations in Germany (e.g. at all 1,400 McDonald's restaurants) and at more than 50,000 of our partner locations worldwide. By raising the number of official telestations with HotSpots from 3 100 to 5 100 we succeeded in significantly increasing wireless Internet coverage in 2011. The use of HotSpots is included in the rates for many fixed-line and mobile communications packages.

In collaboration with the German railway company Deutsche Bahn AG we offer WLAN HotSpots in trains on some routes with data transmission rates of between 1.5 and 16 Mbit/s, or an average of approximately 6 Mbit/s. As of early 2012, 69 ICE trains were equipped with the HotSpot service.

In collaboration with Lufthansa, we also give our customers the opportunity to use HotSpots to surf online via satellite during their flight. Around 25 planes were equipped with this technology as of early 2012. More are scheduled to follow.

LTE makes HotSpots in trains faster.

We will be able to considerably improve the speed of our HotSpot products in trains by introducing LTE technology. It will be possible to achieve maximum downlink speeds of 20 Mbit/s.

We have begun employing this technology as part of our collaboration with Deutsche Bahn AG. The Munich-Nuremberg, Wolfsburg-Berlin and Berlin-Hamburg routes will all be equipped with LTE by late 2012. A mixture of LTE and 3G will be used between Frankfurt and Nuremberg, while HSPA will be employed on the routes between Dortmund, Hanover and Wolfsburg.

We signed a supplemental cooperation agreement in December 2011 for equipping more trains. According to the agreement, some 185 ICE trains and the most important ICE routes will be equipped with LTE by late 2014. We will be starting on the Mannheim-Basel route in 2012. The agreement also includes free online access via Telekom HotSpots in train stations for all DB Lounge guests as of December 2011. The offer was previously only available for first class passengers in selected DB Lounges.

T-Mobile Netherlands expands train WLAN network.

The Dutch train service company (Nederlandse Spoorwegen – NS) is planning to equip 200 trains, particularly double decker trains, with WLAN HotSpots by late 2012 with the help of T-Mobile Netherlands. The company had originally planned to equip 350 trains by late 2013, but at the moment it is unclear whether they will be able to achieve this goal.